


Save My Bastard Soul

by nyeh413peasants



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Bottom Shiro (Voltron), Gore, M/M, Magical Possession, Minor Character Death, Original Alien Character(s) - Freeform, Original Character Death(s), Possession, Power Bottom Keith (Voltron), Sexual Content, Sheith Big Bang 2017, Top Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2019-01-03 18:20:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12152196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyeh413peasants/pseuds/nyeh413peasants
Summary: Being the Paladin of the Red Lion meant gaining its approval. The Paladin must be sharp of wit, strong of will, and with a distinct sense of morality in the favor of peace. Keith was all of these things. He wouldn't crack. He couldn't. Not against Haggar. But when Haggar brings out a new weapon to defeat Voltron and its Paladins and uses Keith as a test subject, all of that goes out the airlock.And it's up to Shiro to save the one person he loves most in the entire universe...even at the cost of himself.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've been so excited to post this fic, and it's finally here! I hope you all enjoy!! The art will be added later on. c: The art was created by the lovely quadriviuum.tumblr.com
> 
>  
> 
> [This was beta'd by Kimmy, Nazly, Allisa, and [mothmanwingman.tumblr.com](http://mothmanwingman.tumblr.com/)]

The dimly lit room was silent aside from the steady drip of water from a leaking pipe.  Keith’s eyes slowly wandered, taking note of the unmoving rebels he had just slain.  Blood had begun to stain the floors, spattered against the walls and his armor.  It had gotten to the point, though, where blood no longer fazed him.  In fact, Keith looked forward to the feel of the warm, thick liquid on his hands whenever he killed.

His gaze eventually landed back on his latest target, Matt Holt.  Locating the rebels - specifically Matt - hadn’t been on his to-do list, but when Pidge told the Paladins about it, Keith had no choice but to act.  He simply couldn’t pass up such an opportunity.

“Wh-why did you d-do this?” Matt asked, his voice wavering as tears filled his eyes.

Keith snorted.  “To prove a point.  Why cause chaos if you don’t hit where it’ll really hurt the people you’re trying to get to?”  His slender fingers traced the hilt of his bayard as he spoke, despite the fact that he wasn’t actually planning on using it.  He wanted Matt to  _ think  _ he was.

The sound of loud, echoing footsteps from the hall drew Keith’s interest away from Matt, though his eyes never left the other.  He stayed still, waiting for the noise to draw closer, and for a certain high-pitched voice to pierce the quiet that had fallen over the room.  Within a few seconds, it did.

“Matt?” Pidge called, close enough to see both Matt and Keith, but far enough away that the latter would be able to do what he needed to without being stopped.

“Kat-” Matt’s words turned into a strangled gurgle as Keith plunged his hand into the man’s chest - bones snapping and the squelch of blood and organs silencing any words the other Paladins had - until Keith’s fingers reached Matt’s heart.  The organ pumped in his hand as blood poured down his arm and Matt’s chest, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Keith bit his bottom lip as he tried getting a good grip on the slippery appendage, though he managed to by digging his nails in slightly.  Keith hissed as he pulled his hand out quickly, taking the organ with him.  As soon as Matt’s heart was free, he dropped to the ground in a slump - unmoving.  Keith’s eyes stayed plastered on his heart, watching as blood dripped onto the body below.

The smirk made its way back to the Red Paladin’s face as he began turning around.  He could feel the eyes of the others boring into his back, waiting for him to reveal exactly what he had done, though the blood should’ve been the first clue that he’d done something horrible.  Once the others were in sight, Keith began taking in their expressions - noting and reveling in the looks of horror on each of their faces.  They remained silent, simply watching.

It wasn’t until they caught sight of the heart that the true reactions came forth, Pidge’s scream ringing out above the others.


	2. Chapter One

One Week Prior

 

Keith groaned in pain as he clutched his head, trying to fight off a growing headache he’d had for the past few days.  He didn’t want to bring it to anyone’s attention, but it had been one of the worst ones he’d ever experienced.  It would have been easiest to go to Shiro or one of the other Paladins about it, though he’d never been known to take the easy way.  Everything had to be difficult - he had to suffer in silence.  At least, that was what he told himself whenever he  _ wanted  _ to bring it up but didn’t.

As it ebbed away, he found himself able to stand, picking himself up off the bathroom floor and sighing.  His long fingers massaged his temples as he took a few deep breaths.  “Fuck, this is getting old,” he muttered to himself, gripping the sides of the sink and staring into the mirror.  A pale face stared back, skin shining with a light sheen of sweat.  His gaze was hard, mouth set in a fine line.

Keith sighed, pulling away from the sink and making his way out of his quarters.  Allura had called the Paladins to the bridge for a meeting, and he was taking his time.  He couldn’t find it in him to particularly care about meetings when he was trying to prevent his brain from pushing its way out of his skull.  Still, they were mandatory and he didn’t want anyone breathing down his neck about missing it.

He made his way to the bridge of the palace, standing to the side of the doors as they slid open quickly, revealing six others.  That meant, shit, they had been waiting for him.  

“Oh!  Well, welcome to the party, slacker!” Lance exclaimed with a snort, his arms crossed against his chest.

Keith gave him a hard look, but rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.  The attention being on Keith made him feel more than a little uncomfortable, especially when it was Lance’s.  It added fuel to the blue paladin’s ego  and gave him more to hold against him.

“Lance, enough,” Shiro said, shaking his head.  “We need to focus.”

“Yes, thank you, Shiro,” Allura spoke up, pressing her hands over one another as she stepped forward.  Keith crossed his arms over his chest, not looking forward to hearing whatever she had to say.  If he were being honest, he dreaded doing anything, really, especially if it had to do with Zarkon.  The last thing the team needed was Keith screwing up due to his head.

“As you all know, Zarkon has been silent and stagnant in his efforts to take the Lions from us.  I have been struggling to figure out why, but the only conclusion I have drawn is that he is preparing something huge - something that could very well beat us.  We cannot let that happen.  So, I think it would be a good idea to double training times for all of you.  I refuse to lose to Zarkon.  Coran has written up a schedule that he will now present.”

Coran stepped closer to Allura, a smile on his face.  “Gather around, gather around, Paladins!  Now,” he grabbed a tablet and pressed a button in the middle, holding it out as a projection appeared from the screen, “at this point, I’m sure you all know that your bonds with not only your Lions, but with one another has grown significantly stronger.   _ However _ , there is always room for improvement, so I would like all of you to do trust exercises in the training room.  You need to learn to rely on one another, as trust is one of the most important elements to Voltron.”

All the Paladins aside from Keith nodded in agreement.  He, on the other hand, rubbed at the back of his neck once more.  He knew he wouldn’t be able to concentrate, especially when it came to team building.  

“After training, the five of you need to go out to your Lions and try bonding with them even more than you already have.  Once finished with that, we will have dinner and go to bed early.  Now, this regimine needs to be implemented every single day.  When you are not following the schedule, I’d like each of you to train individually - to build up your strength.  Do you all understand?”

The Paladins nodded once more before Coran clapped his hands together.  “Good!  Now, off to trust exercises!”

Lance pumped his fist in the air as Hunk and Pidge groaned.

“I was hoping to bake more today…there’s this new recipe I thought of and-”

“You will have time to bake afterward, Hunk,” Allura interrupted with a roll of her eyes.

Hunk sighed, hanging his head and exiting the bridge.  The others followed closely behind, though as soon as the doors closed and the others were out of earshot, Keith grabbed Shiro’s arm.  “Hey, wait.  Can I talk to you?” he asked, unable to actually keep his constant headaches quiet, especially since they would quickly get in the way of training.

Shiro stopped, his forehead wrinkling as he looked Keith over.  “What is it, Keith?”

“I don’t think it’s anything to get overly concerned about.  I just, uh, I’ve been having bad headaches for the past few days, and it’s getting to the point where I’m incapable of doing  _ anything _ strenuous,” Keith responded, averting his eyes.

“A few days?  Keith, that’s a big deal.  I wish you would have told me.”  Shiro’s response drew Keith’s eyes up, revealing a look of absolute worry.

“There was a part of me that wanted to, but I just - don’t want you to think of me as someone that can’t take a small headache.  We all have to deal with pain, and I shouldn’t be exempt from that.”

Shiro rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder.  “You’ve proven over and over again that you’re strong, okay?  Believe me, I know that if you’re going through this, it’s really hurting you.  I know you’re not coming up with excuses.”  He looked around before setting his sights back on Keith.  “Look, go lie down and rest, okay?  I’ll tell the others you’re coming down with something.  If they say anything they’ll have me to deal with.”

Keith snorted but smiled.  “Yeah, like you would actually hurt any of them.  Thank you, though, I’ll take you up on it.  If I were able to handle it better, I would-”

“I know, Keith.  I know.  Go.  Rest,” Shiro said, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Keith’s forehead.  “You mean so much to me.  I want you to be okay.”

“Geez, they’re just headaches.  No need to be a complete sap about it,” Keith chuckled.  “You should go, too.  I’m sure Lance will come looking for us sooner rather than later.”

“Yeah, right.”  Shiro gave Keith a comforting smile before walking away.

Keith watched him for a moment before going back to his quarters.  He could feel the ever familiar pounding beginning at his temples, threatening to take over completely.  He locked the door behind him before laying down on his cot and trying to get comfortable.

He closed his eyes, attempting to will the headache away.  As far as Keith was aware, there wasn't a magical medicine that would make it dissipate.  While the option of the healing pod was always there, he wasn’t about to draw attention to the fact that he had a small headache.  They were used for serious injuries - nothing minor.  He had to suffer in silence, or at least, try to keep himself silent.  Holding the whimpers and moans back was getting harder and harder the more time went on and the worse everything got.

He rolled over onto his stomach, pressing his face into the pillow and groaning loudly.  It felt as if white hot pokers were being pressed into his skin, trying to force the points past his skull and into his brain.  The sensation forced a scream from his throat, though it was muffled by the pillow.  Before he knew it, Keith was gasping for air, darkness surrounding him.  It took him a few moments to realize that it was due to the fact that his face had been pressed into his pillow.

Once Keith lifted his head, he took a few deep breaths before wincing as a violent prod moved throughout his skull, jolting him enough to fall out of his cot and on the floor.  His head smashed against the hard flooring, causing his world to darken around the corners of his vision.  "F- fuck.  Shi- Shiro," he moaned.  His cry for Shiro went unanswered due to the fact that it came out as a whisper rather than a scream like Keith had intended.  He was unable to open his eyes because of the pain that shot through his head whenever he did so.

As he shifted onto his stomach once more, the sharp pain flowed from his head down through his body, as if a liquid had been poured into the top of his head and was quickly traveling downward.  It left him shaky and nauseated, hardly unable to move any further.  He forced himself to continue, though, not about to let himself be overcome.

"Get to Sh- iro , g- get to Shi- Shiro," he whispered to himself, biting at his bottom lip before his lunch came up.  His vomit hit the floor with a loud plop, forcing even more up until he was simply dry-heaving.  Keith's arms shook, struggling to keep him up, but he forced himself to keep moving to what he thought was the door to his room.  It felt like hours had passed since he and Shiro had first parted.  The pain had completely taken over his being.

Keith was forced to stop moving as his limbs failed him, causing him to fall forward flat on his face.  No matter what he did, he couldn't move his arms or his legs.  He could feel tears pouring down his cheeks as he opened his mouth to scream for Shiro once more, though nothing but a loud laugh emerged from his throat.

It wasn't him.  He couldn't control his own body, but he was present in his mind, pounding against all the walls that had once been open, but were now keeping him prisoner.  The laughing became louder and louder before Keith realized he was no longer laughing out loud.  It was all in his head.  Something... someone had him trapped.

And then it was over.

Keith's eyes went wide before he relaxed completely, a smile on his face as he sat up slowly, staring down at his hands.  The corners of his lips pulled up into a sinister smile.  He was hungry.  It was time to cause chaos.

He stood up, grabbing his bayard from where it had fallen on the floor before exiting his quarters once more, all signs that a massive headache had ever been a problem were extinct.

His body began moving without his permission but, instead of fighting it, Keith welcomed the feeling of control, of power, that flowed through his body, seeping into every corner of his being.  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly before opening them up again, a look of determination on his face.

Keith left his room, walking with purpose back to the bridge.  He had absolutely no intentions of actually going in, simply listening.  As he walked, it was as if he were looking at the world with a brand new set of eyes.  Everything was red, bloody.  He’d had nightmares reflecting what he saw, but instead of filling him with fear, he welcomed it.

As he reached the entrance to the bridge, he stopped, glad that the door had already been left open.  He leaned forward slightly, listening in to the conversation.  The other Paladins had finished their training and were talking to Allura and Coran.  From the sound of it, things had turned heated in Keith’s absence.

“I don’t understand why you’re so against at least  _ looking _ , Allura!  It’s like you don’t even want to find the rebels!” he heard Pidge growl from inside.

“I am not against looking.  I am against wasting our time because we need to figure out why Zarkon has been silent,” Allura responded, her voice much more even, but still venomous.

“God, can you not think of anything else?  My  _ father and brother _ are out there!  Look, your Dad is dead, he’s not coming back, but there’s a chance mine is still alive.  I’m going to do whatever it takes to f-”  A smack replaced Pidge’s words and filled the air as silence blanketed itself over the area.

A new voice entered the conversation.  Shiro.  “Enough!  All of us are under stress, but we-”

“Stop!  It is not that I refuse to search for the rebels - and I am not against finding your father and brother, Pidge - but we can not waste time right now!  We will try to find them along the way, but that is all.  End of discussion,” Allura said, a hard sense of finality lacing her voice.

Keith’s fists clenched as the only thought that entered his mind was attacking the others, killing them, feeling their blood soaking his hands.  He wasn’t even sure why the need entered his mind, but it was strong, nearly unstoppable.  Keith clenched his fist as it itched to move to his bayard that hung from his belt.

Part of his brain was screaming at him in the form of an older, raspy, feminine voice.   _ Attack, attack.  Kill them,  _ kill  _ them. _  However, another part told him to hold off.  It was much more prominent, less desperate.  As much as he wanted to rip the others apart, he held off and turned his back on the others.

_ Get to the Red Lion.  Bring her to me, bring her to me, bring her to me. _

Keith did as the voice asked, making his way down the hall and toward the hangars.  He wasn’t sure how he was going to make it out without being followed, but he was sure if he tried there was a way.  The last thing he needed was to be followed, especially when a map to the Galra Empire headquarters appeared on the insides of his eyelids.

He took the short journey down to his Lion before stopping right in front of her.  It was as if he were taking her in with a brand new set of eyes.  Desperation began filling him, threatening to make him act recklessly once more, so he tuned into his brain and listened hard - looking for any sign to stop himself from acting.

_ Bring her to me! _

His eyes opened as he jumped at the force behind the voice.  Keith didn’t want to keep it waiting any longer, so he stepped closer to his Lion, holding up a hand to her, but only receiving a low growl in return.

_ Does- does she know? _  the voice asked, a tinge of fright lacing it.

“Easy.  It’s still me, girl,” Keith muttered, moving closer to her as he spoke.

Red shook her head from side-to-side before laying down on her metallic belly.  Keith’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight.  It was as if she knew who it was, but didn’t trust him fully - not anymore.  If it had been the case, then why would she open herself up to him to pilot her?  It didn’t make sense to Keith.

Still, he entered Red, sitting in the pilot’s seat, putting on his helmet, and gripping the controls.  “Okay, girl, to the Galran Empire we go.”  He took a deep breath and pushed the controls forward, leading Red out into the vast space.


	3. Chapter Two

Keith had seen Galra headquarters once before, but he could remember being with Allura, Coran, and the other Paladins as well.  This was different.  He felt alone and, from what he could feel from Red, she wasn’t doing well either.  She jerked every few minutes, as if trying to turn back to the safety of the palace, but she wasn’t a coward - and neither was Keith.

He quickly crushed the fear with hatred as he landed, leading Red through the vast hallways - they were much bigger than that of the Altean palace, and more fitting for the Paladins to stroll through with their Lions.

As he walked with Red, a voice cut in from his helmet.  “Keith, it’s Shiro.  Where did you go?  Where did you take your Lion?  Are you okay?  I thought you said you weren’t feeling well?” Shiro said, concern lacing his voice.  It made guilt rush through Keith at the fact that he’d decided not to tell him about his plans, but it was quickly squashed down by his determination to get to Zarkon.

“I needed to do something, Shiro.  I’m fine,” he said before taking his helmet off and tossing it to the side.  He didn’t need distractions from anyone - not even Shiro.

Keith followed the map in his head all the way to the bridge, entering the large area and stopping his Lion when his gaze landed on Zarkon, sitting on a large throne.  Haggar stood by his side, holding something in her wrinkled and gnarled hands.  On either side of them stood an entire fleet of the Galra army, ready to attack if their leader were threatened.  Keith had no intentions of attacking.

He pulled back on Red’s controls, wordlessly commanding her to lie down so he could exit his Lion.  Once out, Keith approached Zarkon and Haggar, his hand dangerously close to his bayard, just in case any of the Galra got the idea to attack.  While Keith didn’t have intentions of attacking, he wouldn’t hesitate in fighting back.

His eyes lingered on Zarkon for a moment before shifting over to Haggar.  He looked down at the object in her hands - a small, blood red crystal glowed softly.  Keith’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched the crystal’s light go from a soft glow to something much stronger, much more prominent.

_ It might be connected to you. _  The voice in his head whispered, this one much different from the raspy feminine voice he’d been hearing for most of his journey.  This one sounded much like his own.   _ Don’t do anything about it yet.  Hear them out.  We must. _

Zarkon spoke as soon as Keith had stopped in front of them, “Well done, Haggar. The boy actually brought the Lion to us.  We still have much to do.”  His yellow eyes studied Keith before turning up to the Red Lion.  “He still needs to prove himself further to me. I have a few tests for him.  First,” he began, his eyes traveling back down to Keith, “what are the Paladins planning?”

Keith answered without hesitation, “There’ve been whispers about rebels among many alien races.  A few are those that have escaped you - old prisoners that just wanted out and got the chance.  The Green Paladin - Pidge - believes her brother and father are among them, perhaps even the heads.  Princess Allura is against going after the rebels right now.  She wants to focus on us bettering ourselves and our bonds with our Lions, especially since you’ve been silent.

She doesn’t know what you’re planning and it’s got her on edge.”

“Interesting…” Zarkon mused, though he didn’t sound curious.  In fact, it sounded to Keith like Zarkon was amused.  “As long as I have the princess on the edge and one of her Paladins under my wing, things will grow much harder for the rest of them.  I do look forward to seeing Voltron fall apart.

Now, is there anything else I need to know?” he asked.

“No.  We haven’t been very busy,” Keith responded, keeping his eyes locked on Zarkon.

“Good.   Your next test requires you to leave. You are not to tell your Paladin friends about any of this. Is that understood?”

Keith nodded.  “Yes.”

Zarkon stood, his form towering over Keith, though he wasn’t afraid.  He knew it was about the power, but Zarkon didn’t scare him - nor would he ever.  “You are to go to planet Zambiri and…  _ talk  _ the citizens into complying.  If they refuse, feel free to use whatever means you’d like - no matter what, we  _ will _ get what we want from them.  If your mission is clear, get out of my sight.”

Keith turned heel and walked away as soon as the words had passed Zarkon’s lips.  He already knew exactly what he needed to do, which Keith was more than happy to oblige to.  The voice in his mind agreed.

_ Give them one chance and then do what you’d like.  The bloodlust is becoming stronger within you; I can tell. _

He nodded as he climbed into his Lion once more, leaving his helmet at the side.  Keith still didn’t need the distractions to keep him from doing what Zarkon sent him out for, and he had to do as he was told - or there would be consequences, he could tell.

With a deep breath, Keith turned the controls to Red to the right, turning her around to leave.  There was a small part of him that wasn’t sure about going through with it - that was fighting it, in fact - but it was quieted within a matter of seconds.

| | |

Keith arrived on the gassy planet of Zambiri within two hours - a record from what he had been expecting.  He landed on soft ground without a problem, though disrupted a group of larger aliens with trunks like those of elephants.  Their eyes were strangely close together, but open wide; and their bodies were rotund and long.  They talked in loud, squeaking voices that Keith could hear in Red, but couldn’t quite piece together.

Red laid down for him, already knowing what he needed to do, and opened her mouth.  The Zambiris stepped back, their already wide eyes growing even wider as Keith emerged from the shadows of Red’s metallic mouth.  He felt powerful, in control.

“Who are you?” a female Zambiri spoke up, taking a few steps forward, her hands shaking.

“A Paladin of Voltron gone dark, I guess you could say,” Keith said, a smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth as he took in the surprised and horrified reactions of the Zambiris.  “Zarkon would really like you all to reconsider your refusal of handing over your resources for the cause, and selfishly keeping them for yourself.”  He hadn’t actually known the exact reason for being there, but the words’ reasoning had appeared on the backs of his eyelids every time he blinked, much like the map had done.

The Zambiris went silent, fear blanketing itself across each and every one of them.  Keith could pick up just how terrified they truly were, but he didn’t act, he didn’t move a muscle.  “We need a moment to speak!” a male said, stepping up as the female stared straight ahead, trembling violently.

“Fine,” Keith muttered, moving his hand back and forth as he leaned against Red’s leg.  He didn’t want to wait.  The familiar itching he had felt when among his friends had returned, except no one was trying to talk him out of it this time around.  It was radio silence in his head.

Keith could hear the Zambiris speaking, the hum of his Lion, gaseous bubbles from the planet popping in the distance, and his own blood rushing in his ears.  The need to kill had grown unbearable, he couldn’t hold it back.  Zarkon’s words came back to him:  _ no matter what, we  _ will  _ get what we want from them _ .  It didn’t matter.

Keith could feel his heart pumping as he reached for his bayard, holding it out as it transformed into a long, pointed sword the second he touched it.  Destroy the citizens, destroy the planet.  Easy.  All planets were living and breathing, he simply needed to strike the source.  The Zambiris were lost in conversation with one another, wide open.  Keith wasted no time in running up, swinging his sword and slicing the first citizen in half with strength he’d never shown before.  He watched in slight surprise as the Zambiri citizen fell forward, blood soaking the ground beneath her.

“Ru-” the male Zambiri began, though was cut off by Keith beheading him another simple swipe of his sword.

Laughter ripped from his lips as the Zambiris ran around him, some trying to attack, but being knocked down with his sword without labored breath.  He hadn’t realized just how  _ weak  _ others were, but the blood falling had been worth it all.  Seeing it spilled, the squelching sounds when he happened to step in it.  The sensation was perfect.  He was king now.  Even Zarkon didn’t matter.

After clearing out the area, Keith stared around him at the deceased citizens - most of their eyes stared upward, wide but unseeing.  The small part of his mind hated what he had done; Keith could hear it screaming in his mind, slamming his fists on every part of the small space of his mind that he could reach.  But, he was stamped out again by the voice.

_ Now kill the planet, Keith. _

Keith wiped his brow, the heat from the planet beginning to get to him, and boarded Red again, who vibrated slightly as he stepped inside her.  Keith could feel how angry she was at him, and he sighed.  “I know you don’t like it, but I need to listen to Zarkon for now.  Don’t worry.  If I weren’t around, he’d have you do much worse.”

A groan sounded, but Keith decided to ignore it.  He figured Red wouldn’t stop obeying him for anything.  They were bound to one another, no matter what.  If Keith went dark, Red would have to cope and go dark as well - that was just how their bond needed to work.

He sat in the pilot’s chair and sighed, wiping at the blood on his uniform but only smearing it.  “Damn.  It is suiting, though…” he mused to himself, the sickening smile returning to his face.  The high from killing was still running through his veins, and Keith doubted it would be going away anytime soon.

| | |

While on the way back to the Galra headquarters, Keith placed his helmet back on his head.  Though he still didn’t want to deal with the other Paladins, he knew it would be necessary just in case they decided to come after him.  It was best to sate the others and simply talk to them.

Sure enough, Shiro’s voice came through the microphone in Keith’s ear.  “Keith?  Keith, are you there?  Please answer me, we’re all worried about you.”

“I’m here, Shiro, but there’s really nothing to worry about.  Red and I just went out to… help a few planets.  Look, I overheard your conversation about the rebels and I really think they’re doing a good thing.  I think we should follow suit and help people too, especially since Zarkon is underground.  I didn’t want to pipe in because of how testy Allura was about it,” Keith said, rolling his eyes as he remembered the ridiculous argument.

Shiro sighed.  “Thank God.  Please tell me before going out again, Keith, you had me worried to death.”  After a quick ‘I will.  Sorry.’ from Keith, Shiro continued, “As for what you said about helping the rebels, I feel Allura thinks we already are because of Voltron and trying to find the ones responsible for all of this and taking them down.  I know where you’re coming from and where Pidge is coming from, but I just- don’t want to piss Allura off any more than she already is.  I’ve never seen her so on edge before.”

“Well, tell her to keep her tampon in, then,” Keith muttered.

“Wow, Keith.”

“What?”

“I- uh, that was a little much, don’t you think?  We’re all on edge; just look at everyone else.  Lance has been locked in his room whenever we aren’t training, Hunk is stress baking, and P-”

“I don’t care about any of that, Shiro.  Look, I’ll be back soon, okay?  Just let me do my thing,” Keith said before taking his helmet off and clipping the communication wire with his knife.  He then threw the helmet to the side with a huff, thoroughly annoyed at Shiro and everyone else.  He was coming down from his high, which meant the bloodlust was coming back, and he wanted to take it out on anyone he saw.


	4. Chapter Three

Keith arrived back at Galra headquarters with quick timing.  He took the same way in, leading Red to the bridge and disembarking.  He strolled right up to Zarkon and Haggar before coming to a stop and standing with his back straight.

“I did as you asked,” Keith said.  “No one on that planet is alive, so you’re free to send a fleet down and take whatever resources you may need.”

Zarkon nodded and looked to Haggar before his yellow eyes traveled downward to the crystal in Haggar’s hands.  She twirled them between her fingers, a smile resting on her face.  Keith knew he needed to get the crystal away from her.  It was controlling him, and like hell he wanted to be controlled by anyone - let alone an evil witch.

_Attack her.  Now, before you lose your chance!_

Keith did as his mind asked, jumping forward as he grabbed his bayard.  He landed in front of Haggar before kicking her legs out from under her, watching as she fell backward.  The crystal flew out of her hands and over Keith’s head.  He managed to swing at Zarkon to keep him back before catching the crystal in midair.

“No!” Zarkon growled, slamming his fist on the rest of his throne.

He smirked as he held the crystal over his head and threw it to the ground, watching it shatter.  A red liquid burst on the floor, splattering Keith’s feet.  He felt a release of pressure from his head, as if he had been freed from a collar around his brain.  Yes, he felt free.  He himself called the shots now; no one would be able to tell him what to do any longer, not without a crystal.

Keith gripped his bayard tighter in his hand before running at the fleet of Galra soldiers and slicing at them menacingly, taking down as many as he could.  He thrived on the sound of the moans and grunts of pain from those around him.  Keith felt stronger than ever since the crystal had been destroyed.  In fact, he felt strong enough to take down Zarkon.

 After beheading another soldier, Keith turned his attention to the Galran leader, pushing past Haggar and attacking him with his own bayard.  Keith knew he’d have to dodge quite a few of the advancements, as he knew he was strong, but not strong enough to go on the offense.

Unfortunately for Keith, Haggar called in her drones.  Electricity filled the air as they floated into the room, their magic crackling around them.  One by one they each attacked Keith, along with Zarkon.

Keith was able to dodge all hits with ease.  Or, rather, all but one.  As he ducked from one, another streak of electricity came toward him, nicking his arm and causing him to cry out in pain.  He held his free hand over his wounded arm and ran toward Red, who had opened her mouth to wait for him.  This time, she didn’t growl or fight him.  As soon as Keith was inside, she turned tail and ran.

“Let’s go home, girl.  That was… fucking stupid of me to do.  I’m not sure why I actually did it,” he muttered, talking more to himself than Red.  He checked over his arm before deeming it okay and grabbing the controls on Red.  “I would apologize but, I’m just- I’m not sorry.  It was all worth it.  It felt _good_.”

While he wanted to get home, he also didn’t trust himself.  The fact that he had killed almost an entire fleet of Galra soldiers didn’t matter much to him.  He needed more of the innocent to sate his bloodlust.  He needed to feel the blood running between his slender fingers once more.  “Before we go back, I want to make a few pit stops, okay?  Just to… help out.”  Keith wasn’t sure why he’d lied, as he and Red were connected in more ways than one, she would find out no matter what he did or how hard he tried to hide it from her.

| | |

After making two pit stops, Keith made it back to the palace, landing in his hangar and stretching.  He felt tired, but not enough to sleep.  Instead, he felt like he needed to recharge, or lose charge.  It was as if he had just eaten a large meal, except the meal was murder and Keith was holding the blade, taking innocent lives.

He finished cleaning the blood off his outfit and disposing of it in his Lion before exiting.  As soon as he’d made his way off, a pair of arms wrapped around him tightly.  “Keith!  We were so worried about you, man!”  Hunk exclaimed, his voice sounding thick with emotion.

“Why?  I filled Shiro in on everything that was going on, unless he didn’t tell you for some stupid reason,” Keith responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“So?  You’ve been gone for hours.  Let us worry, why don’t you?  Personally, I wouldn’t have missed you, but I _guess_ we do need you to pilot your Lion.  After all, who else would do it?” Lance asked, a glint in his eye.  Deep down, Keith knew Lance was joking, but all he wanted to do was take his head off in that moment.  He wanted to wipe the smirk off his face and be done with it.

“Coran, I think you should call Shiro and Pidge back, especially the former of the two,” Allura said, though her voice seemed distant.  Keith wasn’t sure if it was due to the argument between her and Pidge or if she was onto Keith and everything he had been up to.

“Got it, Princess!” Coran exclaimed before turning his attention to his earpiece.  “Shiro, Pidge, Keith has returned.  I repeat, Keith has returned.”

“Thank God.  I’ll be there in five.  Thanks, Coran,” Shiro said before static sounded.

“Good!  I, uh, have some bad news, though,” Pidge said, her voice growing solemn.

“What is it?” Allura asked, moving to stand closer to Coran.

“It’s not good.  I’ll fill you all in when I get there.  I will say that I think it means Zarkon is on the move again, because I don’t know who else could have done this,” Pidge responded.  “Be there in five.”  She, too, went silent.

“Damn, I knew something more was going on with Zarkon!  We are not ready and, yet, he has had all this time to prepare!” Allura ranted, looking as if she were about to stomp her foot on the ground and pout.  The thought of her doing so nearly made Keith snort and roll his eyes, but he barely managed to restrain himself.

“Did you see anything strange while you were out?” Coran asked Keith.

He shook his head.  “No, nothing.  It was strangely quiet out there, so it must not be what Pidge thinks.  I really don’t think we should jump to conclusions right now.  Doing so is dangerous.”  Keith didn’t exactly believe it, but he also knew pinning the blame on Zarkon was dangerous, especially knowing just how Allura felt about the Galra.

“I agree.  Let’s just try and relax until Pidge and Shiro get back, yeah?” Hunk asked, his hands shaking slightly.  It made Keith want to roll his eyes at the coward, but he refrained once more, instead standing with his back straight and arms crossed over his chest.  He kept himself tense just in case.

The room acknowledged Hunk’s request and stayed quiet, but it was uncomfortable.  It had been made clear that no one was really okay with not talking.  Luckily, Shiro and Pidge walked in soon after, both looking distressed.  However, as soon as Shiro laid eyes on Keith, he visibly relaxed, running up to him and wrapping his arms around the smaller male.

“I was so worried.  I know you told me not to, but after your headaches, I couldn’t help but freak out a little when you left with Red,” he said, burying his face in Keith’s shoulder as the other wrapped his own arms around him loosely.

“Don’t worry about me, Shiro.  I can take care of myself, you know, I have been for years.”  He patted Shiro on the back a couple times before pulling back.

Shiro’s eyebrows furrowed as he kept eye contact with Keith, but sighed, pulling himself together quickly and turning to Pidge.  “Do you want to tell us what you saw, then?”

Pidge cleared her throat and stepped forward.  “Yes.  As I was looking for Keith, I came across the planet Zambiri.  When I landed, I noticed… bodies.  Everywhere.  All the citizens on that planet had been killed.  I’m not sure how long they’d been there as their bodies were decaying, but it might’ve just been the effects the various gasses had on the citizens.”

The room went quiet, the weight of Pidge’s words dragging everyone down, along with their various thoughts.  Keith stayed quiet, deciding to just keep his mouth shut about everything.  The last thing he needed was to accidentally come forward about everything.

It was Allura that decided to speak first by slamming her fist on her hand.  “Okay, here is what we need to do.  We cannot just let these planets and their citizens suffer,we must get onto a schedule where we can train and keep an eye out on the different planets.  Pidge, I would like you to rewire our emergency station and send out a signal about what has happened.  We need to avoid this.  Whenever we are not helping out, I want all of you to train harder than ever.  Zarkon will not get away with it again,” she said, determination lacing her voice and her eyes flooded with tears.

Keith forced himself to look down to hide his smirk.  Sure, she had been kind of right by assuming Zarkon had done it, but really, it had been Haggar’s control over Keith.  Now that the control had been broken, however, things would get much worse for Allura and the Paladins.

“I would like all of you to get to your Lions and at least do a sweep of the surrounding area, just in case Zarkon is out there right now, just waiting to attack.  We need to be ready,” Allura added, sweeping her hands out toward the Paladins before turning her back on them.

| | |

Once Keith’s helmet was repaired (with more than a few suspicious looks from Hunk at the obviously cut wire), the Paladins had left the palace once more.

“I can’t wait until this is over,” Hunk’s voice rang out through everyone’s helmets.  “Getting a good night’s sleep and a full meal on planet Earth would be so amazing.  I’m done with this alien stuff.”

“You can’t just be ‘done’ with it, Hunk.  All of this is going to stay with us forever, you know that right?” Shiro asked before pausing.  “Sorry, I don’t mean to be a downer.  All of this is obviously stressful.  I don’t know how Zarkon got under all of our noses like that.”

“I think he’s doing it for Quintessence,” Lance cut in.

“That doesn’t make sense.  The planet would’ve been dead, too, Lance,” Pidge responded quickly.  “I can see why those citizens were killed - maybe they weren’t complying and Zarkon got fed up, but it doesn’t make sense to just leave a perfectly good planet sitting there filled with Quintessence.”

“We need to figure out what Zarkon is planning.  I’m sure those citizens knew,” Shiro said.

Keith stayed quiet throughout the conversation, just listening to everything being said.  It was amusing to him that they weren’t even looking at the one obvious factor in the matter: him.  He had been gone at the time of the murder, he’d _done it_ , but they had barely questioned him.  Keith wondered what they would say if they happened to find out.

He didn’t get to think about it long, as Keith spotted a small gang of aliens being hassled by the Galra.  They looked just as Shiro had when he’d been rescued, though much more bruised and bloody, as if they had just escaped combat - only to be thrown right back in.

“I got something, guys,” Keith said, cutting into whatever Lance happened to be saying at that moment.  “About five Galra are crowding around two aliens.  I’m going to go see what’s going on.”

“You should wait on one of us, at least, Keith,” Shiro said, concern clear in his voice.  It was really beginning to tick Keith off.

Keith sighed.  “Stop treating me like a child, Shiro.  I can do this!” Keith growled before taking his helmet off and tossing it to the side before landing.  Both the aliens and the Galra moved back as Red landed on the large space platform, held by nothing.  She laid down, waiting for Keith to disembark before standing back up and sitting on her metallic haunches.

He made quick work of the Galra soldiers before turning to the aliens, who cowered under his glare.  “Yeah, you’re welcome for that,” he growled.

“Th- thank you,” one of them muttered.

“Your Lion, it’s beautiful.  Tell me, are you a Paladin of Voltron?” the other asked.

Keith nodded.  “Yeah.  We heard about Zambiri and decided to do a quick sweep to make sure no one else was affected.  Have you noticed anything strange?”

“Well, y-” the second began, but was cut off by a sharp shoulder in the side from the other.  “No, sir.”

“Uh-huh,” Keith said to himself.  Without giving it a second thought, he took his bloody sword and stuck it through the alien’s throat, blinking as blood spattered his face.  “That’s for lying.  And you, don’t move.  I haven’t finished asking you questions.”

“Pl- please, don’t kill me!  The soldiers were asking us about you, sir.  They say you are the one that destroyed that planet!  I swear we did not say anything about your whereabouts!” the alien practically sobbed.

Keith looked down at the creature in disgust.  “That’s not what I meant, but good to know,” he growled.  “I want you to tell me what you’ve heard about the rebels against the Galra.”

“The- the rebels?  Most have heard about them, but no one knows where they’re located; including me,” the alien said, wiping its round nose.

“All right,” Keith said, turning to walk away, but having second thoughts.  He couldn’t let the alien live - not if he didn’t want to blow his cover and give himself away to the other Paladins, so he turned quickly and sliced across the alien’s chest, creating a deep gash.  The alien dropped, shaking and moaning before going still.  “But you’re of no use to me.”

Keith wiped the blood from his sword before turning back to Red, who shook her large head from side to side.  It was clear she was disappointed in him, but couldn’t do anything about it.  They had already been bound by their souls.  She had to go along with him now - unless a better Paladin came along.

Once Keith had boarded Red, he put the helmet back on his head and spoke, “I saved them.  I asked about the rebels, too.  Apparently, no one knows where they’re located, but they definitely exist.”

“That means Matt and my Dad are definitely out there, then,” Pidge said, relief in her voice.

“Let’s go back to the castle, team.  We’ve done all we can out here for the night,” Shiro said, not bothering to acknowledge what Pidge said, just on the chance she was entirely wrong.  He hadn’t seen Matt since he’d given him the injury, and it had been longer since he’d seen Sam.  There was a good chance both had been killed.  Keith knew that, as Shiro spoke about it frequently.  He had never forgiven himself.


	5. Chapter Four

It didn’t take long for the Paladins to arrive back at the palace.  When Keith traipsed to the bridge, he saw everyone already at work.  Hunk and Lance had changed into their swimsuits, prepared to do laps in the palace’s pool - Keith knew they would end up simply goofing off with one another, though.  Allura had gone to do laps of her own while Coran went around the palace, making sure it was in the best shape it had ever been in.  Pidge sat in one of the chairs on the bridge, trying to find any sightings or whispers that would help her locate the rebels.

It was all boring to Keith.  He had better things to do.

His eyes traveled to Shiro, who stood at the front of the bridge, grey eyes scanning a vast, dark galaxy.  Keith walked over to him slowly, not wanting to startle him.  “Hey, everyone’s off doing their own things, I think maybe we should, too.”

Shiro nodded.  “Yeah, sorry.  I’m not sure why I’m so distracted.”

Keith squinted at the other, a feeling creeping over him that he knew Shiro was lying to him.  He didn’t draw attention to it, though, and instead proposed something for them to do.  “What do you think of combat training?  No one is in the room, so we’ll have it to ourselves-”

“Gross!” Pidge piped in, not looking up from her laptop.

“Not for that,” Keith said calmly, though anger flared up in him.  It  _ was  _ what he wanted.  If he couldn’t use violence as a release, sex with a boyfriend was the next best thing, whether Shiro liked it or not.  He bit back an insult toward Pidge and led Shiro away from the bridge and back into the corridors.  “Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind.”  He didn’t particularly care, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

Shiro sighed, carding a hand through his short hair and shaking his head.  “Honestly?  I’m worried about you mostly.”

“Me?  Why?” Keith asked, feigning surprise.  If anyone would notice something off, it  _ would _ be his boyfriend.

“You seem angrier at the world, but it’s not completely directed toward Zarkon like it usually is.  It seems directed at everyone and I can’t figure out why.  I don’t mean to upset you, and it might just be me…” He sighed again.  “Forget it, okay?  I think we’re all having an off-day because of events that we couldn’t stop.  Maybe it’ll all be better tomorrow.”

Keith wanted to tell him that it wouldn’t be - that things would only get worse - but he didn’t want to ruin the surprise.  They reached the training area quickly.  Keith opened the door, letting Shiro go in first before looking around and making sure no one was near.  It wouldn’t be as fun if someone caught them in the act.  As soon as he made sure the coast was clear, he followed Shiro in and locked the door behind him, making sure it was bolted tightly.

He then turned toward Shiro, a smile on his face.  “So, where should we start?”

Shiro chuckled, stretching out his muscles and grabbing a weapon from the variety the palace had equipped.  “Just come at me.  I think we both need this.  First one to get nicked loses.”

“Fair enough,” Keith muttered before lunging with his own weapon.

Shiro blocked Keith’s advances easily enough.  Then again, Keith also wasn’t trying too hard to win.  It wasn’t about that at the moment, it was so much more.  In fact, Keith  _ wanted _ Shiro to win, just so the victory sex would be that much more enjoyable on his end - maybe.  In the grand scheme of things, Keith really didn’t care about Shiro’s pleasure, only his own.  “Are you even trying, Shiro?”

“Are  _ you _ ?” Shiro growled, though his voice was lighter than he let on, a smile playing at his lips.  He wasn’t being serious, Keith could tell.  Shiro then managed to knock Keith’s weapon from his hand, jumping forward and knocking the other back.

Shiro landed on top of Keith, a light smile on his face.  “You’ve been disarmed.  I win,” he said.

Keith nearly rolled his eyes, not looking forward to whatever sweet, fluffy moment was going to happen before the act itself.  It was necessary to go through with the foreplay before it all, though, which was what he needed to tell himself if he were to survive all the gooey shit Shiro was about to deliver.

Shiro leaned in closer to Keith, pressing their lips together softly.  Keith wanted to make it much more heated as a thrill went through him, but he settled on resting his arms around Shiro, pulling him down further, their bodies touching gently.

He pulled away from the kiss.  “I feel like things are just going to escalate from here.  Should we go back to my room?” Shiro asked.

“Hell no, I don’t want to wait that long,” Keith growled, flipping the two over with ease and nipping at Shiro’s bottom lip.  Shiro gasped in surprised, the front of his pants tightening at the feeling.  Keith smirked and rolled his hips down onto Shiro’s lap.  “You’re getting excited already?”

“Ye- yeah.  You do that to me, Keith,” he whined in response, wrapping his arms around Keith and pulling him down into another sweet and slow kiss.  Keith kept his eyes open as Shiro did so, instead studying his relaxed features, the way his growing hair fell back slightly, the white beginning to spread due to the stress of keeping the Paladins happy.  It almost made him feel bad - almost.

Keith pulled away slightly, trailing kisses along Shiro’s jaw and neck before biting down roughly on his collarbone, earning another gasp from Shiro.  He didn’t stop there, though, instead he bit down a few more times, sucking as he did so.  He wanted to leave all the marks he could on Shiro’s scarred body.  He wanted everyone to know who he belonged to.  As he left the marks, his fingers worked at Shiro’s shirt, pulling it up to his pecs before turning his attention to Shiro’s torso.

He traced his tongue along Shiro’s muscular torso, hands focusing on his body.  It wasn’t what he wanted to do, but it was buttering Shiro up, which needed to be the focus then.

Once Shiro’s top half had been sufficiently marked, Keith turned to Shiro’s pants, unbuttoning them swiftly and pulling them down his legs.  A pair of briefs was all that kept Keith from his cock.  He nearly salivated at the thought of seeing around it, of gripping it as he fucked Shiro into the ground.  But, he needed to wait despite the fact that he was tantalizingly close to getting what he wanted.

He placed his mouth around Shiro’s inner thigh, beginning to suck at the sensitive skin and earning a long, low moan from Shiro in return.  “Holy shit, Keith.  Your teasing is killing me.”

Keith grinned darkly, using one of his hands to palm at Shiro’s tent.  Another moan filled the room.  “Yes, moan for me, Shiro,” Keith whispered as he pulled his mouth away from Shiro’s thigh.

“I will, baby,” he responded, smiling weakly up at Keith.

Hearing Shiro calling him baby nearly sent Keith through the roof.  He hadn’t realized just how into pet names he was.  His own cock had hardened significantly since they began, ready to fuck Shiro’s ass.  “Shit, you have to say that again, Shiro,” he muttered.

“That can be arranged, baby,” Shiro whispered, lifting his hips into Keith’s hand and moaning again.  “ _ Fuck _ .”

Keith couldn’t wait any longer.  He reached down with his other hand and began pulling Shiro’s briefs down his legs, releasing his cock.  Keith breathed out at the impressive length, thanking his lucky stars that he happened to be dating Shiro and not someone else.

“Is something wrong?” Shiro asked, knocking Keith from the daze he hadn’t realized he’d been in.

“Yeah.  I just never get tired of seeing you,” Keith responded, running the tip of his index finger along Shiro’s shaft.  Both shuddered at the feeling, Shiro tilting his head back with a low groan.

Keith sat up on his knees, unbuttoning his own pants and pulling them down his legs.  He was done waiting, it was time to act.  “I want you to finger yourself.  Now.”

Shiro quirked a brow at Keith, not having been expecting Keith to be so commanding.  However, he did as Keith asked, pushing two fingers past his lips and sucking on them, running his tongue over them until they were wet enough to be pushed inside him.  He then lowered his fingers to his entrance and began pushing in, wincing slightly as he did so.

Seeing the discomfort on Shiro’s face sent another thrill through Keith, so much so that he could feel his cock twitch in anticipation.  As he waited, Keith gripped his cock and began running his hand along the base and to the tip before moving it back up toward his balls.  He groaned softly as he began jerking himself off in time of Shiro’s fingers moving in and out of his own ass, both beginning to lose themselves quickly.

It was only when Shiro could easily fit three fingers inside himself that Keith moved forward, knocking Shiro’s hand out of the way and positioning his cock in front of Shiro’s entrance.  “Are you ready?” he asked.

Shiro nodded, biting down on his bottom lip.  “Y- yeah.  Fuck me, baby,” he responded, voice soft and sweet.

It was all Keith needed to move forward, pushing his cock inside Shiro’s warm entrance and grunting loudly.  Shiro moaned beneath him softly, wriggling uncomfortably at the wideness of Keith’s dick.  He held tightly to Shiro’s legs, lifting them in the air to give him more leverage with his thrusts, which he went slow with at first.  Despite the fact that he wanted to just pound into Shiro, he forced himself to refuse for the time being.

“Y- you can go faster, you know,” Shiro muttered, grabbing his cock and jerking it slowly, trying to keep the pace with Keith’s thrusts.

Keith smirked, wondering if Shiro knew exactly what he had given him permission to do.  He moved himself forward, carrying the weight of Shiro’s legs on his shoulders and bracing his fists on the ground on either side of Shiro’s body before thrusting into him hard a few times, just to get the hang of it.

“Mm, fuck,” Shiro moaned, “yes, like that.”

Keith took a deep breath before quickening his thrusts even more, positioning his body to go even deeper inside Shiro, trying to hit his prostate.  He wanted Shiro to be a complete mess beneath him.  He wanted to hear Shiro sobbing in pleasure and pain.  The thought alone was nearly enough to drive Keith over the edge.

Soon enough, only the sound of their grunts and moans, as well as the slapping of skin against skin, filled the otherwise quiet room.  Keith cleared his mind, only focusing on the feeling of his cock moving in and out of Shiro’s ass.

“F- fuck.  I’m clo- close, Keith,” Shiro whined, tossing his head back.  He brought his body forward as Keith brought his forward, wanting more.

Keith arched his body to hit Shiro’s prostate head-on, wanting to feel the other tighten around him.  He wanted Shiro to milk the come from his cock.  “Come for me, Shiro, come for me.  Now.”

Shiro gasped as his body tensed, his toes curling, which Keith had never seen them do before.  Shiro’s orgasm washed over him as he nearly screamed out, his come splattering over his torso before he went limp.  But Keith was far from done.  He continued thrusting hard into Shiro’s sensitive entrance, refusing to stop until he too had come as well.

Shiro shifted uncomfortably as Keith continued, but the only sounds of protests that came forth were pained moans.  Keith pulled out at once, gripping Shiro’s Galra arm and using it to flip him over, capturing it behind his back and holding on as he used his other hand to rub spit over his cock and shoving it right back into Shiro’s entrance.

“Keith, what are you-  _ oh, fuck _ ,” Shiro whined, trying to move his body forward, but being much too weak to do so.

Keith continued from where he left off, pounding into Shiro hard.  He could feel his orgasm approaching in the pit of his stomach, threatening to overcome him at any second.  An animalistic growl ripped from his throat as he slowed his thrusts down, instead focusing on going as hard and deep as possible.  He could feel his hips starting to ache, protesting his every move.

“I- I’m gonna-” he hissed, but was cut off as his own orgasm crashed over him like a tidal wave, rendering him unable to breathe and barely able to move.  He continued, though, milking it for all that it was worth before pulling out of Shiro and rolling onto his side, a lopsided smile on his face.  “Fuck.”

Shiro collapsed next to him, both their chests heaving as they tried to calm down from the rigourous sex.

“Do- do you feel better, Keith?” Shiro asked with a short laugh.

Keith nodded.  “Yeah.  Do you?”

“Yes.  I’m surprised, though.  Usually we don’t go that hard.  The stress of all this is really getting to you too, isn’t it?” he asked, turning to his side and resting the side of his head on his hand.

“You could say that…” Keith muttered, staying on his back.

Shiro sighed and sat up.  “Well, I think that’s all the training I’m up for tonight.  Since we’re both so stressed, I think it would be a good idea to go to bed and try tackling all of this tomorrow.”

“You go ahead, I’m going to do a little more training on my own.”

“Are you sure?” Shiro asked.

Keith nodded and waved Shiro away with his hand.  He got dressed, gave Keith a few quick kisses, and left the room.  Keith eventually sat up, staring at the door Shiro walked out of and smiled.  He’d decided it - the rebels couldn’t be found, so he would focus his efforts on Shiro.  Take down the leader and not only kill his host, but bring the Paladins crashing down.  It would be simple, too, as Shiro already trusted him.

Keith just needed to find the right time to strike.


	6. Chapter Five

Keith clutched his head as he fought within himself.   _ No, not Shiro.  Not Shiro.  Please tell me it’s not him _ , he screamed to the darker part of his mind.  They had been at it for hours, going back and forth.

A sinister laugh was all the response he received, as it had been for the past hour.  Tears poured down Keith’s cheeks as everything that had happened weighed heavily on him, his heart, and his mind.  Everything came crashing down on him in ways he didn’t want to think about.  Keith wanted to forget desperately, but he had to live with it.  At least, while he still had control.

_ I’ve left you in control for too long.  Now you can watch as I pull the life out from under your little boyfriend.  Exciting isn’t it?  Gives you a thrill, doesn’t it? _ the voice said before pushing Keith back into the depths of his mind.

“Now,” he began aloud, “where were we?”  A smirk graced his features as he left his quarters, heading to the bridge.

The other Paladins were waiting for him when he arrived.  Pidge stood at the front of the group, nearly vibrating with excitement, dark bags under her eyes and laptop held tightly in her hands.  The others looked relatively well rested.

“Pidge has news,” Shiro said, his eyes traveling over Keith.  He was sure he looked much worse off than Pidge in terms of being tired, as he hadn’t even showered since he and Shiro’s romp the night before.

Pidge moved forward with her laptop.  “That I do!” she exclaimed.  “As you all know, I’ve been looking for any signs of the rebels I can get my hands on and, guess what? I found it!  I don’t know their exact location, but I know where they’re going to be striking next.  There’s a small fleet of Galra soldiers on planet Makusog that are trying to pilfer for supplies.  No one knows what they’re planning, but  _ I  _ know the rebels are going to strike. We need to go!”

The other Paladins agreed as Keith backed slowly out of the room.  Shiro would have to wait.  If the rebels were going to strike and he knew where, he needed to strike as well.  He knew where his priorities were.  He quickly turned tail and walked away.

Keith made it halfway down the hall when a hand landed on his shoulder, spinning him around.  Lance.

“Where are you going?  And what’s been up with you for that matter?  Shiro and the others are worried as hell.  While I couldn’t care less what’s going on with you, I think you owe the others some sort of explanation,” Lance said, crossing his arms over his chest and quirking a brow at Keith.

“I don’t have to explain myself to the seventh wheel, got it?  I don’t owe you shit,” Keith growled.

Lance’s eyes widened as he let his arms fall to his sides.  He reached an arm up to grasp Keith’s shoulder.  “Dude, tell me what’s g-”

Keith couldn’t remember anything else Lance said as, the next thing he knew, Lance was on the ground with a scream, clutching an arm that had been bent an awkward direction.  Keith looked down at him with wide eyes, backing away slowly before turning tail and running in the direction of his Lion.

_ No, fuck, I did that.  I hurt Lance.  Don’t make me hurt anyone else, you sadistic fuck. _

_ It’s too late for that, Keith.  Your life is mine, your friends are mine, and your soul is mine. _

A sob escaped Keith’s throat as he ran.  He considered flinging himself into space without his suit, or anything else that would cut off the other’s plans.  But he wasn’t in control.  All he could do was stay locked in his own mind, screaming out to the people he cared about and hoping nothing horrible happened to any of them.

| | |

As Keith reached the vibrant planet of Makusog, he noticed there were no rebels there.  He thought about simply circling it until the rebels arrived, but decided to make a good first impression and kill off the Galra that had inhabited the planet.

He brought Red down slightly before urging her to take out a small chunk of the Galra soldiers with a beam of light.  All that was left afterward was a larger crater where they had been standing, unaware that they were about to be wiped out.  He then landed Red on the surface, exiting and keeping watch for any other soldiers that happened to be standing around.

“That can’t be it,” he muttered to himself, the bloodlust beginning to grow stronger once more.  It was impossible to keep it sated.  He huffed a breath and began walking, Red staying behind.  It didn’t matter much to him anyhow.  The only thing he’d need her for was proof that he truly was a Paladin if he needed to.

He reached the edge of a vast forest, stopping before he reached it as a thousand pairs of eyes stared back at him.  While Keith considered himself bloodthirsty, he knew when he would be outnumbered, so he decided to stay back, assessing the situation instead.

Keith knew they weren’t Galra soldiers, as the eyes weren’t glowing yellow.  Instead, they glowed pink.  He decided to be friendly, as difficult as it would be.  “Uh, those soldiers are dead, you know.  You can come out if you want.”

There was rustling in the forest before two incredibly short aliens stepped out, the pink of their eyes matching their skin.  Each were shaped like slugs with legs, which freaked Keith out much more than it should have.  Still, he swallowed his disgust and spoke.  “I can lead you to the place where I took them down if you don’t believe me.”

“Who are you?” One of the aliens asked in a deep voice.

“A Paladin of Voltron,” Keith responded, glad to have such a powerful title to throw around.

The second alien's’ eyes widened.  “We have heard about you and your greatness!  Please, you must let us show you our gratitude for helping us be rid of those pesky soldiers!”

“I  _ really  _ don’t need your gratitude.  I do this to help, not to be rewarded,” Keith said, holding his hands out.  Some of his words were true.  He didn’t want to waste his time partying with a bunch of aliens over something silly.  In his eyes, if they really cared about their own lives, they would have rid the planet of the Galra soldiers or died trying.  However, enduring their thanks meant getting in even better with the rebels, so at their persistence, Keith sighed and gave in.

The aliens led him through the forest and to a large clearing where a fire crackled and a village surrounded it.  Keith looked around, feeling a warm wind caress his cheeks.  It made him regret putting on his Paladin armor.

“Sit, sit!” one of the aliens exclaimed, breaking through Keith’s thoughts.

He did as he was told and sat on one of the benches surrounding the fire.  “You guys don’t do a dance or anything… do you?” Keith asked, distaste in his voice, though he hoped he had masked it enough to get away with it.

The aliens, however, didn’t seem to notice at all.  Each of them kept their eyes on Keith, smiles on their small faces.  He wished they would stop looking at him like that, it was growing creepy.  “No, Paladin of Voltron, no dances.  We will have a feast in your name, though!  A feast and a large celebration.  We have been waiting for someone to help rid us of those pesky soldiers, so everything has been planned accordingly.  Thank you again, Paladin of Voltron!” the alien said, bowing low.  The others followed suit.

Keith sat up a little straighter, not minding the aliens bowing at him.  It made him feel powerful, in control.  He knew, in that moment, he could’ve asked them to do anything and they would.  But, he had to remind himself that the rebels were more important than having the citizens of Makusog kill one another off in brutal battles to the death.  He made a mental note to come back at a later time and make good on that.

| | |

It wasn’t until after the celebrations that the rebels showed up.  By then, Keith had gotten to his last wit, nearly running up and kissing the craft that had landed for providing a good enough distraction as to not kill the Makusog citizens.  Instead of running up like he wanted to, he stood by patiently, his bayard in hand in case anyone tried attacking.

He watched closely as the craft landed, a door descending onto the ground and three rebels exiting with their weapons drawn.  “Are the Galra soldiers here?” one of them asked, a bandana covering their mouth and muffling their words.

“No!  The Paladin of Voltron saved us!  He put an end to them with his beautiful red Lion!” a citizen exclaimed, jumping up and down.

Keith was then pushed forward by a few more of the citizens.  “This is the Paladin of Voltron!”

The rebels lowered their weapons.  “You’re actually a Paladin of Voltron?”

Keith nodded.  “Yeah, I pilot Red.”

“Can we see her?” another rebel asked, her eyes wide with wonder.  “For, uh, legitimacy purposes, of course.  We want to make sure you’re the real deal.”

“Follow me,” Keith said, motioning for the rebels to follow, and leading the way.  As he walked, a smile appeared on his face.  He was tantalizingly close to the rebels - to Pidge’s father and brother.  As long as the other Paladins didn’t show up, he would be okay.

They reached Red quickly, Keith showing her to the rebels as if he were showing off a brand new car to friends.  The rebels stared at her with open mouths and wide eyes, lifting their arms a few times to feel her metallic sides, but thinking better of it at the last second and letting their arms drop back down.

“So, where are the other Paladins?” a  rebel asked once they finished looking over Red.

“At our base.  They haven’t left yet, but they told me to go on ahead,” Keith responded.

“Speaking of bases, we should head back, Tyra.  We have no business here,” another rebel said to the one that had just spoken to Keith.

“Yes, yes, Salmoana.  Don’t worry.  Would you like to come back with us, Paladin?” Tyra asked with a bright smile.  “You’re on our side, so we have no qualms with bringing back a Paladin of Voltron.”

“I’d have to let the others know where I’m going, but yeah, I’m up for it,” Keith said, a thrill running through him, trying to keep his face as passive as possible.  He didn’t want to give away just how excited he was at his plans slowly moving forward.

Salmoana and Tyra nodded in unison.  “Of course.  Please, follow us, then.  I’m sure you can let your Paladin friends know on the way,” the latter said before the two waved and walked away.

“Come along, Zeypher,” Salmoana barked to the last rebel that had stuck next to Red the entire time.  He jumped and nodded to Keith as he ran after the others.

Keith rolled his eyes and entered Red, sitting in the pilot’s seat and placing his helmet on his head snugly.  “This is Keith.  I ran into a few rebels and am following them back to their base.  They didn’t say where it was located, but I’ll keep you guys updated.”

Shiro’s voice was the first to fill Keith’s ears.  “Keith.  Trust me, I’m happy to hear that, but Lance has a broken arm and he says you did it.  I want to talk with you privately when we reach the rebel base.  I’ve been wanting to, but I think it’s much more important at this point.  I’ll be in touch.”

Keith’s hands tightened around the handles.  It was clear to him that Shiro suspected something now, all because Keith couldn’t control his anger around the sniveling sack of shit known as Lance.  His jaw tensed as he held back a biting statement, not wanting to draw even more attention to the fact that something was off.  In the end, he muttered out a quick ‘fine’ and brought Red into the air, following the rebel craft.

| | |

It didn’t take long for Keith and the rebels to enter the base.  Keith guided Red to land and urged her to open up for him, though she refused, shaking her head slightly.

“Open, girl.  Come on,” Keith growled, hitting her side with the palm of his hand and receiving a growl in response.  She knew what he had planned and obviously didn’t want him to go through with it.  Unfortunately for her, though, he couldn’t be swayed.

Red bent down and opened her mouth wide.  Keith walked out quickly, not wanting to risk being chewed to death by his own Lion.  He looked around the rebel base, noticing the fact that it lacked rebels.  His eyebrows furrowed.  Keith had been expecting many to be wandering around, doing different things around the base.

Tyra traipsed up to him.  “I know it looks kind of bare, but we have a lot of people out on runs,” she said.  “Follow me, please.  I’ll take you to the guy in charge.”

Keith nodded, hanging back slightly to fill in the other Paladins on his location.  Pidge got back with him excitedly with a quick ‘we’ll be there in no time!’, which began Keith’s internal clock.  He wouldn’t have long to strike, so he had to make every second count.  He quickly followed Tyra to the rebel leader, a rather tall alien with wrinkles all over his skin.

“Did you recruit another member, Tyra?” he asked in a wheezy voice.

“Kind of.  This is actually the pilot of the Red Lion.  Of Voltron.”  Tyra stood straight around their leader, but Keith didn’t miss the look of pride on her face at bagging a Paladin and bringing him back to the base.

The leader’s eyes widened as he turned his gaze to Keith and Red.  “My, my so you have.  Well done, Tyra.  Now, why do you go help Zeypher with his duties, maybe get him to open up a little while I speak with the Paladin.”

Tyra bowed and walked out of the main room.  Keith then turned his attention to the leader, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for him to speak.

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Keith.”

“Keith.  Quite a unique name.  I am Valentin.  My planet was taken away from me long ago, so I strived to get my revenge on the Galra.  It took me quite a long time to find others that were willing to fight back against them, but eventually, I did.  I have built up quite the army here - though, we haven’t actually struck.  We spend most of our time saving others and building the army even more.  We always offer to those that are willing to enlist,” Valentin said.  “Most of the time, I stay behind to help others train and find those in need, but today things are different.  I’m leaving my best man in charge.  I would go into great detail about my plans, but I do not have the time.  I do apologize, but we will have plenty of opportunities to talk when I return.”

Keith nearly smiled at how everything was working out.  While he would have enjoyed Valentin being involved in his own plans, it was clear it wouldn’t work out that way.  It wasn’t time yet.  He needed to wait.  “It was nice meeting you, Valentin,” he said.

Valentin nodded.  “You as well, boy, you as well.  Why don’t you take a moment to meet everyone in my absence?”  With that, he walked away, moving to a large craft and taking off a minute later.

Keith watched as the craft disappeared into the darkness before turning his attention to everyone still at the base.  He wasn’t sure how many were in other rooms, but there were around ten in the main area - and those were who he needed to focus on.  His eyes traveled over multiple alien faces before hitting one human.  He looked a little taller than Pidge, with similar colored hair and face.  Matt.

Keith smirked as he made his way over to Matt Holt.  “Hi, I’m Keith.  I just met Valentin and he told me to introduce myself.  You’re… Matt, right?”

Matt, though looking taken aback by the quick introduction, smiled.  “Hi!  Yeah, I’m Matt.  Do we know one another?” he asked.

“No, not personally.  I know your little sister - Katie,” Keith responded.

Matt’s eyes widened at the mention of his sister’s name.  “Katie?  H- how?  Have you spoken to her?”

“Yeah, she’s one of the Paladins of Voltron, along with me.”

“What?” Matt asked, surprise lacing his features.  “No.  You’re kidding.  How do you know Katie?”

“I’m not kidding.  I do know her, but she doesn’t seem to know me very well,” Keith said, the smirk returning to his face.

“What do you mean?”

Keith grabbed his bayard from his belt.  “Well, it’s simple.  She, your clever little sister, hasn’t managed to figure out that I’ve been working as a double agent of sorts.  I am part Galra after all, isn’t it to be expected?” he asked with a laugh.

A look of horror crossed Matt’s face.  “No.  You’re a Paladin of Voltron.  Y- you’ve been helping people,” he stammared.

“No, not for three days I haven’t.  While it might seem like I’ve been doing good in this vast nothingness, I’ve actually been causing more havoc than Zarkon in only a few days.  It’s funny how that works out, isn’t it?”  Keith pressed the button on his bayard, not watching as it formed into a long, deadly sword.

Matt took a few steps back, beginning to shake in fright and anger.

“And now, Matt, you’re going to watch as I kill every last fucker here,” he hissed, pushing Matt back onto the ground hard as he tried to attack.  “Ah ah ah, I’m saving you for the end, Mattie.”

Keith then looked around at the rebels, who had begun to gather around.  His eyes locked on Zeyphr.  “How about you first?” he asked before charging and stabbing him through the chest.  Zeyphr choked loudly as he slid off Keith’s sword and onto the ground, dead.  Keith then moved on to the next rebel, and the next, until every single one had been killed.

Keith’s eyes slowly wandered, taking note of the unmoving rebels he had just slain.  Blood had begun to stain the floors, spattered against the walls and his armor.  He didn’t bother wiping it off of him, though, as he wanted the other Paladins to see him.  He wanted them to know exactly what he was responsible for.

“Wh-why did you d-do this?” Matt asked, his voice wavering as tears filled his eyes.  Keith drew his eyes from the bodies and looked to Matt.

Keith snorted.  “To prove a point.  Why cause chaos if you don’t hit where it’ll really hurt the people you’re trying to get to?”  His slender fingers traced the hilt of his bayard as he spoke, despite the fact that he wasn’t actually planning on using it.  He wanted Matt to  _ think  _ he was.

The sound of loud, echoing footsteps from the hall drew Keith’s interest away from Matt, though his eyes never left the other.  He stayed still, waiting for the noise to draw closer, and for a certain high-pitched voice to pierce the quiet that had fallen over the room.  Within a few seconds, it did.

“Matt?” Pidge called, close enough to see both Matt and Keith, but far enough away that the latter would be able to do what he needed to without being stopped.

“Kat-” Matt’s words turned into a strangled gurgle as Keith plunged his hand into the man’s chest - bones snapping and the squelch of blood and organs silencing any words the other Paladins had - until Keith’s fingers reached Matt’s heart.  The organ pumped in his hand as blood poured down his arm and Matt’s chest, his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

Keith bit his bottom lip as he tried getting a good grip on the slippery appendage, though he managed to by digging his nails in slightly.  Keith hissed as he pulled his hand out quickly, taking the organ with him.  As soon as Matt’s heart was free, he dropped to the ground in a slump - unmoving.  Keith’s eyes stayed plastered on his heart, watching as blood dripped onto the body below.

The smirk made its way back to the Red Paladin’s face as he began turning around.  He could feel the eyes of the others boring into his back, waiting for him to reveal exactly what he had done, though the blood should’ve been the first clue that he’d done something horrible.  Once the others were in sight, Keith began taking in their expressions - noting and reveling in the looks of horror on each of their faces.  They remained silent, simply watching.

It wasn’t until they caught sight of the heart that the true reactions came forth, Pidge’s scream ringing out above the others.  “NO!  Oh my God, no!  Mattie!”

Shiro held her back as she jumped forward to attack, her screams shifting from Matt’s name to how she would murder Keith if she ever got his hands on her.  Shiro yanked her back harder, pulling him behind her.

“Pidge, please!” he said before turning to Keith.  “What has gotten into you?  Why did you do this?”

“Because he’s fucking crazy!” Pidge sobbed, dropping to her knees as the anger began leaving her, her hazel eyes not leaving her brother’s body.

Keith laughed.  “No, I’m not crazy.  I’m Keith’s anger, personified.”  With those words and Pidge’s sobs hanging in the air, Keith turned tail and ran to Red.


	7. Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is told from Shiro's perspective.

Shiro ran a hand through his hair as he landed Black back in his hangar.  He was in shock, nearly unable to process anything that had happened with Keith.  In fact, his mind was refusing to let him believe that Matt had really been killed, that the bodies lying there were just some sort of elaborate prank started by Matt and Keith who had become best friends in a short period of time.

But the logical part of Shiro’s mind knew that everything he’d seen had been real.  The dead bodies on the ground had been dead, and it had been Keith that ripped Matt’s heart out.  There was no faking it, as they had even checked the body afterward.  Pidge’s screams and sobs had been real, Hunk vomiting, Keith’s words.  He wasn’t sure what had happened, who had gotten to him, but he planned to find out.

He exited Black and ran to the bridge, where the other Paladins had already gathered.  Tears continued to run down Pidge’s cheeks, though she paced in front of the windows, her eyes staring at the ground as she walked.  Lance sat on the chair, chewing at his fingernails, and waiting for someone to speak first as Hunk sat next to him, not speaking.  Allura and Coran whispered quietly amongst themselves.

Shiro sighed and stepped forward, ready to speak, though Allura beat him to it.

“I knew something like this would happen, Shiro.  Keith has been unstable for some time now, and I guarantee it is the Galra blood that runs through his veins.  He is dangerous, and he has the Red Lion,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Lance stood up quickly.  “Yeah!  I agree with Allura.  Plus, the bastard broke my arm.  I bet he’s been wanting to do that for ages.”

“But, he said it was his anger personified, so it wasn’t really Keith,” Hunk said quietly and causing a sense of relief to wash over Shiro at the fact that he wasn’t alone in the fact that he didn’t blame Keith for anything that had happened.  The actions weren’t that of Keith.

“That doesn’t matter!  He still needs to be stopped,” Pidge cut in, stopping in her tracks.  Tears still trailed down her cheeks as she spoke.

Allura nodded in agreement.  “He has been killing people, Shiro.  I know he is your boyfriend, and I understand that you believe it is not really him, but the fact is that he  _ needs _ to be stopped.”

“Even if it means he dies, too, Shiro,” Pidge added with a sniffle.

“We’ll need to get Red away from him, especially if Keith happens to be working for the Galra now, as it seems that’s what you’re hinting at,” Coran said, his voice solemn for once.  Shiro could tell he knew just how serious the situation was.  But, with his words, something clicked in his head.  The Galra.  Of course.

“I need to go.  Don’t act until I get back.  Understood?” Shiro commanded.  “If Keith shows up, get him tied up or something, don’t just kill him without saying anything.  Chances are, we can snap him out of this and everything will be okay - well, not okay, but things will get better.”  He wasn’t sure if he believed those words, but it was what he needed to say to make things okay for the time being.  He needed to hold onto hope that things would be okay.

He walked out of the room and down to the hangars, moving right past Black and to the other crafts that sat there, waiting to be used.  He wasn’t about to take Black where he was going, especially not if they already had Red under their belt.

| | |

Shiro arrived at the Galra mothership soon after, jumping out of the craft and taking out three guards on his way to the bridge, where he knew Zarkon would be waiting.  Being back on the Galra mothership brought back nasty memories from his time as Champion, but he quickly blocked any thoughts of it from his mind, not wanting to fall back into a panic attack from the mere stress of being there.

He moved quickly and quietly to the bridge before standing and walking normally once he had arrived.  Shiro held his Galra arm out, testing anyone to attack, but no one did.  Zarkon sat in his throne with Haggar close to his side, a sneer on her face.

“Why have you come, Champion?” Zarkon asked.  “Unless you’ve come to relinquish the Black Lion to us.”

Shiro shook his head.  “No.  I’ve come here to demand something.”

“Demand?  And what makes you think you can come in here and demand something from us?” Haggar said, stepping in, the sneer still clear on her face.

“Because, I know what you did to Keith, and I know that it wasn’t what you were expecting.  He isn't just killing the innocent out there, he’s killing Galra soldiers too, and something is telling me that that isn’t what you had planned when you did whatever you did to him,” Shiro said, faltering a little toward the end.  He wasn’t even sure if the Galra had anything to do with it, but he wasn’t about to stay away and let Keith die.

Zarkon stayed quiet for a moment before speaking.  “And what are your demands?” he asked.

“I want you to do to me what you did to Keith.  He said it was his anger personified, so that’s what I want you to do.  Are we clear?” Shiro said, straightening his back.  He wasn’t even sure what he was asking, nor how long it would take or the process, but he was desperate.

“And why should we?” Haggar asked.

“I might be able to break Keith out of it, but I need to be strong enough to do it.  Keith was able to rip out a human heart, so I’m thinking, with this arm,” Shiro gestured to his Galra arm, “I’ll be able to take him down, if you would only listen and do as I asked.  I’m not strong enough to do it on my own.”

Haggar shook her head, a smile resting on her face.  “It’s comedic to me that you do not know, Champion.”

Shiro sighed, not expecting a full, almost calm conversation between the three.  He had wanted to be in and out in order to find Keith and help him.  Still, he decided to humor her.  “Know what?”

“That you were our first test subject.”

Shiro scoffed.  “You’re lying.”

“Am I?  Think about it, Champion.  Those massive holes in your memory, the terrible things you  _ do _ remember doing.  You thought it was all about survival, didn’t you?  But no, you revealed in what you did.  You  _ enjoyed _ it.  We saw you out there, killing our own creations as well as those that we had captured.  You were bloodthirsty and you loved it.  Unfortunately, the effects wore off, as we hadn’t perfected it.  But not anymore.  Keith was our perfect second test subject.  All of his pent up anger and aggression, not to mention the Galra blood running through his putrid veins.”

Horror filled Shiro as he listened to Haggar’s words.  He wanted to collapse, but most of all, it made him want to find Keith even more.  If Shiro had broken free from the hold, so would Keith.  He would be able to pull through anything as he was, after all, the stronger one.  Shiro had always thought so.

“I wasn’t expecting him to break free of my control, though.  So, yes, I will agree to possess you as well,” Haggar added, her smile faltering slightly.  It was clear to Shiro that she didn’t want to give in to help him, but she saw no other alternative.

“Good.  Do it.”

| | |

Shiro sucked in a breath as two drones slammed him on a table, holding him down as Haggar turned toward him, a long, delicate looking blade in her bony hand.  “This will hurt a little.  We need blood and flesh.”

“H- how did you get Keith’s flesh?” Shiro asked, trying and failing to keep his voice from shaking.  He didn’t want to begin thinking about his time as Haggar’s prisoner, or the fact that he had been affected by her spells as well.  He needed to keep his focus on the fact that he had to help Keith, no matter what.  He couldn’t let flashbacks snap him out of that.

“During a particularly nasty battle between you Paladins and one of my creations.  All of you really should be more careful with what you drop.  It could end up in the wrong hands,” Haggar laughed, slicing Shiro’s good arm with the blade.

He cried out, watching as his blood dripped into an old bowl beneath his arm.  His gray eyes then wandered back up to her, wide with fright.  He didn’t want to think about how she was going to extract the flesh from his body.

She lashed out with the blade once more, digging the tip into his flesh and pulling back quickly, forcing another loud scream from Shiro’s lips.  He felt like vomiting from the pain, despite the fact that he had been through much worse during his time with the Galra.  Haggar continued digging in until a decently sized slab of flesh was in her hands.

“Bandage him up, will you?” she asked the drones, turning away from Shiro and to a table where a large bowl, two hollow, blood red crystals, and a large book lie.  She poured the blood into the blood and began chanting.  Shiro couldn’t understand the words, but he knew it was something dark from the feeling that grew in his chest.  It was a feeling of doom, dread, hopelessness.  It felt as if he wouldn’t get out of this alive, and that terrified him.

He sat up as the drones finished bandaging his arm, watching as Haggar dropped the flesh inside the bowl, which had begun boiling at that point.  Shiro’s eyebrows furrowed as he watched Haggar continue chanting, still watching the contents.  It wasn’t until she dropped the crystals into the bowl that a shooting pain went through Shiro’s skull, causing him to cry out a third time and fall back, clutching his head and grimacing.

Haggar didn’t even look back as she finished the spell and stepped back, her own eyes staying locked on the bowl as Shiro writhed in pain on the table, still clutching his head.

After ten minutes, it was over.  Shiro relaxed, his eyes staring up at the familiar ceiling.  He could feel a pressure in his skull as it continued to throb, as if someone were pushing on all sides, trying to burst through.  His anger.

Haggar lifted the crystals from the steaming bowl and held them up.  “I have finished.”

Without thinking, Shiro moved forward, snatching the crystals from Haggar and kicking her back.  He ducked from the electricity sent out by her drones and ran toward his ship, knocking guards aside and clutching the crystals to his chest.  He couldn’t let them go or lose them, especially if one of them happened to control him.  They needed to be studied, as they could be the key to Keith returning to normal.

| | |

Haggar watched as Shiro jumped into his craft and flew off.  She stopped her drones in their tracks, sending them away.  Her yellow eyes never left the shrinking craft, though.  She knew the outcome.  Shiro would not be strong enough to return Keith to normal.  He would not make it through everything.

Keith would be Shiro’s downfall.

A smile appeared on her wrinkled face as she turned around and returned to Zarkon’s side.

| | |

Shiro reached the castle in record time, barely stopping the craft before he jumped out.  He only had one person on his mind: Hunk.  During the ride, he had decided against bringing everyone else into the mix and instead focusing on the only one that had had Keith’s back during it all.  Shiro didn’t necessarily  _ want  _ to bring Hunk into everything, but he knew it was necessary if everything were to go smoothly.

Luckily for Shiro, Hunk happened to be in his quarters, running chubby fingers through his short hair.  “Hunk, I did you to listen to me because I can only say this once.  Do you understand?” he asked, startling Hunk out of whatever he had been thinking about.

“Wha- uh, yeah.  Should we get the others?” he asked.

“No, this has to do with Keith and I really don’t want them to be privy to this, okay?  I need you to understand how serious this is, Hunk,” Shiro said, his head beginning to ache once more as his anger began pounding at all sides of his head.  It was growing stronger with every second - he didn’t have long.

“Okay, I understand.  What do you need me for?”

“You were the only one that stood behind Keith, so I need you to do something for me.  I- I went to Zarkon and Haggar and they did the same thing to me that they did to Keith.  They’re the reason why Keith is the way he is, which I’m sure everyone suspected it.  Or, at the very least, you and I had.  My plan is to break Keith out of whatever’s wrong with him, and I believe the crystals are the key.  With what Haggar said about not being able to control him, I’m sure he was able to get his crystals back, just like I got mine-”

“Wait, hold on.  You’re saying that she did this to you, too?  You  _ asked  _ her?” Hunk interrupted, bewildered.

“Yes, I asked her.  Now, I need you to take these crystals and hold onto them.  I don’t trust myself to hold onto them.  You need to hide them or  _ something _ .  Put them in a place where I’ll never find them if I do come looking,” Shiro said, his voice growing impatient as the pain grew.  He held out his hand, the crystals resting in his palm.

Hunk took them with shaking fingers.  “S- so, if you’re like Keith now, why aren’t you killing people?”

“Because I have a hold on my anger, for now.  It’s struggling, though.  I need to go.  I’ll be damned if I hurt any of you.  Don’t tell the others I was here, and don’t let them go looking.  Stand up for yourself, Hunk.  Don’t let them push you down or silence you.”  With that, Shiro turned and walked out of Hunk’s quarters and down the hall, back to his craft.

As he reached the craft, he put his helmet on and reached out to Keith.  “Keith, do you read me?” he asked.

“What do you want, Shiro?” Keith’s voice asked, causing the pain to worsen, as if his anger could sense Keith’s.

“I want to meet with you.  We really need to talk.  Now.”

“Oh, so commanding.  I’ll humor you, Shiro.  Where should we meet?”

“Zambiri,” Shiro responded as his craft lifted into the air and took off.  “Don’t worry, we’ll be alone.”

“I’m not worried about that.  I’ll be there soon.” The connection then cut out and Shiro could no longer hear Keith.  He wasn’t sure how the conversation was going to go, or even what he was going to say, but he knew he needed to come up with something fast before  _ his  _ Keith was gone forever - which he didn’t want at all.

| | |

Shiro paced as he waited for Keith, still fighting the growing headache and trying not to let the anger overcome him.  Though, he didn’t have to wait long as, soon enough, Keith touched down as well, jumping out of Red and approaching Shiro.

“You wanted to talk,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Shiro nodded.  “Yes.  I visited Zarkon and Haggar.”

Keith quirked a brow, obviously Shiro had captured his attention.  “Yes?” he drawled.

The headache grew worse, but Shiro masked his face “I talked to them, about everything you did.  You need to be stopped, so I asked them to do to me what they did to you.  I know that you’re aware that you aren’t yourself... but what you don’t know is that they tested me first.  I went through the same thing, but I broke out of it.  That’s why I had her do it to me again, Keith.”

Keith’s face twisted into an expression of horror.  “Takashi, no,” he whispered.

Shiro was caught so off-guard by Keith’s reaction that the anger and darkness inside his mind overcame him, his eyes turning a bright yellow for a moment before going back to their murky gray color, a smile appearing on his face.  “And now that I’ve taken control, we can actually have some fun.  What do you say, Kogane?”

Keith’s face went back to its arrogant expression before a smile spread across his face.  “Why not,” he laughed.

They closed the space between one another, pressing their lips together roughly.  A long, low moan left Keith’s lips as Shiro pushed him back roughly, both landing on the ground below.  Shiro worked his way downward toward Keith’s pants, pushing them down his legs roughly and paying attention to his cock, running his tongue up the shaft and taking the head in his mouth- wasting absolutely no time.  He bobbed his head up and down as Keith moaned beneath him, running his slender fingers through Shiro’s short hair.

“Fuck, Shiro.  Y- you know, we would make a good team out there…” he mused through the pleasure, a malicious smile playing at his lips.

Shiro smiled around Keith’s cock and nodded as he bobbed his head, his hands traveling up before scratching down Keith’s hips, drawing crimson from under the skin.  He pulled his mouth off Keith’s cock with a loud  _ pop _ .  “As long as I’m the leader, Kogane.”

“Fuck no.  I have a higher body count than you.  Plus,” he flipped both of them over with ease.  “I’m stronger than you.”  He grinded his crotch against Shiro’s, moaning as he did so.

“For now, maybe.  You have a head start.  I’ll take my rightful place, though.  Remember that,” he growled, pushing his hips upward.  “Ride me, you slut.”

“Slut?  Now, where did you learn that word?  It’s not very nice,” Keith chuckled darkly as he unbuttoned Shiro’s pants, pulling them down enough to release Shiro’s cock.  “Huh, hard already, are we?  You never were the patient one out of the two of us.”

Shiro groaned impatiently.  “Just ride me!”

Keith grinned, spitting on his hand and jerking Shiro off for a moment before lowering himself onto Shiro’s cock, hissing as he did so.  “Can you hear Shiro fighting in your mind?  I can hear Keith.”

“Yeah.  If anything, it’s only fueling me,” Shiro muttered, though he was barely paying attention to any of that.  All he cared about was getting off.  He thrusted upward into Keith with a grunt, grabbing his thighs as he did so and forcing him down.  Keith’s face changed for a moment, pleasure etching his features.

“Ah, fuck, yes,” he moaned, leaning forward and gripping Shiro by the throat, cutting off his circulation.  Another shiteating grin appeared on his face as he began moving his hips.  “Make me come or pass out, I’m not letting go until one or the other happens.”

Verbally, Shiro could only choke in response.  Physically, he gripped Keith harder and pushing into him harder and faster, slamming him down as he did so.  Shiro could feel his hips beginning to ache and protest at how fast he moved in and out of Keith.  Though, he was slowed slightly due to the lack of air.  He could feel drool spilling from the corner of his mouth and running down onto Keith’s hands, his eyes beginning to roll into the back of his head.

Keith’s smile only grew as he began bouncing again, earning a tortured moan from Shiro and a groan from his own lips.  “Mmm, fuck I’m close,” he moaned out, keeping his pace even.

Shiro barely heard Keith’s words, as it sounded like his blood were pumping in his ears, his body going numb.  He was sure his face looked like a cherry, and he could hardly feel the pleasure or the pain.  Darkness crept upon him, and the last thing he remembered seeing was Keith throwing his head back, his mouth opened in a clear ‘o’.


	8. Chapter Seven

_ Oh God, he went to Haggar.  This is all happening to him now. _

_ All because of you, Keith.  It’s  _ your  _ fault.  You know that, don’t you? _

Keith whimpered, holding his head.  “Shut up,” he whispered, “shut up, shut up, shut up.”  The anger had let Keith take the reigns inside his own head.

_ I can’t completely put the blame on you, though, Keith.  It is the Galra’s fault, too.  They did this to Shiro.  He was the first, remember?  And now he has to go through all of his again.  Doesn’t that… piss you off?  _ the anger asked, it’s voice slow, as if it didn’t want Keith to miss a single spoken word.

It didn’t take Keith long to realize that it  _ did _ piss him off.  The Galra had caused all of this, it was all their fault.  With the anger realizing that Keith had taken the bait, he took control once more, flexing his fingers and surging Red forward.  “To the Galra Mothership!” he growled.

| | |

He arrived at the mothership quickly- or at least, quicker than he thought he would.  But the brilliance of his plan was: no one knew what it was he’d been planning.  Even Shiro’s anger hadn’t been privy to the knowledge.  No, this was something he was going to do on his own.  Kill Zarkon and take over the Galra, take over the Galra and rule the universe.

A smirk appeared on Keith’s face as the thoughts ran through his head, but he didn’t let himself get too overexcited, as he still needed to prepare.

Quickly and quietly, Keith exited Red and sent her off while he ran to what looked to be a Galra supply closet with extra outfits and cleaning supplies.  He shoved the supplies out of the way and found a suit that looked like it would fit him nicely.

As he put it on, Keith looked down at his hands, freezing when he noticed their color: purple, as if he were going full Galra, which didn’t seem possible at all.  It reminded him of the time he touched the Quintessence, except it didn’t hurt.  Instead, it looked like it had been a part of him for as long as he could remember.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Keith put a pair of gloves over his hands as the anger inside of him laughed loudly.   _ You’re becoming one of them _ .

_ No, I’m not.  We’re just seeing things. _

_ Keep telling yourself that. _

Keith then put on the mask, completing the outfit.  He wished there were a mirror inside, but it was also so dark that he wouldn’t have been able to see himself anyhow.  He snuck out of the supply closet, looking around him before running down the halls, avoiding any Galra that were walking by.  He didn’t want to kill just yet.

He tiptoed to the bridge of the ship, peeking around the corner, his chest moving steadily.  Keith felt like he should have been much more anxious about going after Zarkon and Haggar, but he found he was surprisingly calm.  He was confident in his ability to beat them… perhaps too confident.

Gripping his bayard in hand, Keith watched as it formed into his sword and turned his attention to Zarkon and Haggar, both of whom were speaking to one another in hushed voices, which Keith hadn’t thought possible for someone like Zarkon.  He didn’t care to listen in to what they were talking about, it was clear that they were lost in their conversation.  The two wouldn’t even know what was coming.

Keith’s face grew hard as he gripped his sword with both hands before running forward.  He had almost made it to Haggar when she turned suddenly, throwing him back into the far wall.  Keith dropped to the ground, sure his head was bleeding.  He could hear himself groan, but everything sounded distant, far away.

“ _ Stupid boy _ !” Haggar spat, “Did you really think you could sneak up on us?  I see The Champion has failed to stop you.  Pity.”  Electricity suddenly flared around her, filling the room.  “I guess I’ll have to finish you myself.”

As she spoke, Keith forced himself up, gripping his sword again and lunging at her with a growl.  A spark of lightning burst forth, knocking Keith to the side.  He rolled before getting right back up, eyes not leaving Haggar’s.  He was stronger than her, he simply had to wait for her to weaken before striking.

“Stop playing with him, Haggar.  Kill him so we can be done with this mess,” Zarkon said, his voice booming around the room, over the loud crackle of the electricity.

“With pleasure,” Haggar hissed before moving to strike at Keith again.  She stopped suddenly as four pairs of footsteps sounded in the room.

Keith and Haggar turned to look, surprise on their faces at those that stood before them: the Paladins of Voltron, with Shiro in the lead.  He wasted no time in stepping forward, his brows furrowed.  “Enough!  We all need to stop this.  I will talk to Keith.”

With surprise still etched on her face, Haggar stepped forward.  “How are you in control, Champion?” she growled.

“I gave Hunk the crystals.  You should find that your creations are easier to control if the crystals are in the hands of the right person, Haggar,” Shiro said, his eyes hard and mouth set in a steep frown as he stared Haggar down.  “ _ I  _ am in control of the anger, not you.  Now, let me speak to Keith alone.”

However, no one backed away.  Instead, Pidge and Lance turned toward Shiro, their eyes wide with surprise of their own.

“You gave your crystals to Hunk and didn’t tell us?” Lance asked.  “I thought we were all in this, Shiro!  That crazy thing broke my arm!”

“He killed my brother, Shiro!  He killed Matt, and you’re still on his side?” Pidge growled.

Shiro shook his head.  “It’s not Keith!  It’s his anger.  He’s practically possessed right now, and that isn’t his fault.”  He sighed before continuing, “We aren’t having this conversation here.”  He pushed past Lance and Pidge, eyes focused on Keith.  “Keith, please.  I know this is hard, but you can pull through this.  All you have to do is fight it.  I believe in you, you know that, I’ve always told you that.  I- I love you.  Fight this, Keith, fight it!”

_ I have to fight this.  I have to fight  _ you.   _ Shiro was right. _

_ No, you can’t fight me.  I’ve been inside your mind too long.  You are  _ mine _ , and now you’re going to watch me destroy the one person that still believes in you. _

Keith gripped his head, dropping his bayard, eyes closing as the aching returned.  He fought with his own anger, biting and scratching at whatever he could, including the walls of his mind until all that was left was a bloody mess.  But the anger prevailed.  Keith knelt, grabbing his weapon and preparing to run forward, though was shoved out of the way by Shiro as two bright lights filled the area, momentarily blinding Keith.  He could hear a thud and a gasp.

As the light disappeared, Keith froze as he saw Shiro lying facedown on the ground, blood pooling around his body.  The anger receded from the front of Keith’s mind, letting his true form take over for the time being.  “Sh- Shiro,” he whispered, crawling forward.  No one else mattered, he didn’t care if he were struck dead.  He could only see Shiro, the blood.  So much blood.

Keith turned Shiro over, gasping at his pale face as tears filled his eyes.  “Shiro.”

Shiro lifted an arm, caressing Keith’s face.  “K- Keith?” he asked, voice shaking from the pain of the wounds.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Keith said with a sniffle.  “I’m so sorry.”

Shiro shook his head and opened his mouth to say something before freezing, his eyes widening for a moment before the light slowly left his gray orbs.  Keith could feel him go slack in his arms, forcing a scream from his throat.  “ _ Shiro! _ ”

Hunk grabbed Shiro’s crystals from his pocket as tears poured down his cheeks.  He gripped them hard before holding them above his head and smashing them on the ground below.  Red smoke rose in the air before dissipating quickly, as the anger no longer had a source to go to.

Lance’s eyes went wide as he looked down at his gun, taking a few steps back.  “Oh God…” he whispered as he looked at Shiro’s body in horror.

Zarkon chuckled deeply as he lowered his weapon, standing from his throne and reaching into Haggar’s cloak, pulling a single crystal out.  “We no longer have a need for this,” he said, smashing it to the ground.  Like the other, red smoke rose beginning to make its way toward Keith.  A scream of pain tore past his lips, making him throw his head back as similar smoke began leaking from his eyes, nose, and mouth.  The smoke joined together before dissipating, just as Shiro’s had.

“We have you Paladins right where we want you,” Haggar said, a snide smile resting on her face.  She snapped her fingers as Galran soldiers marched in, training their weapons on the Paladins.  “Kill them!”

Five shots rang out, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk fell to the ground.  Their eyes stared up toward the ceiling as Keith screamed again, but it wasn’t one of pain.  He had lost everyone he’d ever cared about.  Everyone.  He looked to Haggar and Zarkon with a look of pure hatred before turning his attention back to the soldiers, silently begging them to pull their triggers.

But right as they did, everything froze.

Keith looked around, waiting for the shots to hit and kill him, but they didn’t.  No one moved, not even Zarkon or Haggar.  Keith stood up on shaking legs, looking around the room and freezing when someone else entered his field of vision - someone that he hadn’t expected seeing.  The Blade of Marmora.

“Keith,” one of them began, “this is what will be waiting for you if you do not change the course of your actions.  You are on a fast course for possession, and this is what will be waiting for you.  You need to find Haggar and put a stop to her plans as soon as you can.  If you do not, you will lose everyone you have come to care for, and the universe will be taken over by Zarkon.

You are the only one who can avoid this.  Take the steps.  Tread with caution.  Don’t let it all boil down to this.  Now, wake up.”  He snapped his fingers and everything went black.

Keith sat up on the floor of his quarters, his body covered in a thick sheen of sweat as he gasped for breath.  He looked around with wild eyes before a single word left his lips.  “ _ Shiro! _ ”


End file.
